India's thermal coal imports jumped 8% in 2017-2018

It’s the first time in three years that imports rose.

Enerdata reports that the latest data released by the Indian Trade Ministry's directorate general of commercial intelligence and statistics (DGCIS) revealed domestic thermal coal imports increased by 8% to 161 Mt (from 149 Mt) during the 2017-2018 fiscal year, whilst coking coal imports rose by 13% to 47 Mt.

This is the first time in three financial years that India's total coal imports rise. Indonesia remains the largest supplier of thermal coal to India and accounts for approximately 60% of India's thermal coal imports (nearly 95 Mt) from 91 Mt in 2016-2017. South Africa is also a significant exporter of thermal coal with 38 Mt in 2017-2018 (+13%).

The domestic Indian coal supply suffered from logistical bottlenecks because of a shortage of trains and regulatory changes targeting pollution cuts, which boosted coal imports. This undermines the government's capacity to diminish India-bound coal shipments and cut its import bill. The total value of India's 2017-2018 coal imports went up by 38% to US$20bn.

This article was originally published by Enerdata.